The girls' birthdays

Kaitlan turned two this year we had Winnie the Poo birthday party with our friends the Kerns and the Langbehn's. Our main activity was play dough. The rocket balloons were quite a hit as well. Aubrie turned five and wanted a Teddy Bear birthday. All her friends brought their bears and danced and made necklaces for their bears. Aubrie wishes everyday was her birthday. We forgot to take pictures of Aubrie's party with the camera but we got some on video.

Thanksgiving and Christmas

Thanksgiving is of coarse only an American holiday. Ted had to work but got off early for our big dinner at the Mission home with all the missionaries and other American's in the ward. I made a gigantic batch of mashed potatoes and my families favorite desert, blueberry yum-yum. We got completely lost on the way there and decided it was definatley time for a navigation system. It was odd being away from family for our first time during the holidays. For Christmas we were really hoping our boxes we sent from back home would come. We were really missing our warm clothes and kitchen supplies. No luck. But we did get invited to spend Christmas with our new friends the Jensen's. On Christmas eve we attended a Lutherin church's nativity play and enjoyed a traditional German dinner with the Jensen's and their parents. The Weinachsman comes on Christmas eve here but came to our girls Christmas morning before heading to the States. Earlier in the month Ted and I attended a Christmas Concerto at St. Micheals, beautiful, and visited the Christmas markets they set up all over, delicious. We also got to cut down our own tree!

Halloween and the Latern festival

Halloween was different here. I was told it wasn't a very big deal but to have a bit of candy just in case. When the trick or treaters came they sang a very long song, I caught the word Dracula. Ted was working so I took the girls to the two neighbors that I knew. Aubrie and Kaitlan loved the Halloween care package that Anita sent us (our neighbor back home) , they put on their favorite dresses and had their new furry purses. Mom improvised with their rosie checks. Halloween has started to really catch on here. We ran out of candy we had so many trick or treaters. A few days later was the first German holiday we got to celebrate, the Lantern Festival. Aubrie made a lantern at a hardware store's child care area. We joined our villages celebration and marched behind one of the two bands holding our lantern and wondering when everyone would break out in the lantern song which we had practiced saying earlier that day in preparation. It was fun to walk through the streets and the event wouldn't have been the same without the wurst (hot dog) at the end. All those kids carrying candles surrounded by paper frames and nothing caught fire. I have since learned Germans really love candles and light them nearly every day and definitely for every holiday!

All things foreign

Hamburg is a huge metropolitan city, much lager than what we were used to. We had to learn to get around with the subway and bus system. Luckily there are small grocery stores that can be walked to nearly everywhere. One of the first things we checked out was the shopping on Monckebergstrasse, to get a cell phone. They don't have Burger Kings like this back home! We got to stay in a hotel for a month while searching for our home and getting acclimated. The hotel was near Lake Alster, we loved to watch the sail boats and see all the beautiful mansions in the area. Ted took language lessons for a month, but only began to comprehend how the German language works. Our favorite thing so far is the bakeries on every corner filled with rolls, doughnuts, and cakes. Not having a car yet we learned to ride the subways and would fill our stroller up with the groceries we needed. We decided on a house in the west side of Hamburg in the boundaries of the only English translating ward here in Hamburg. We are close to our our American friends the Kennedy's and to the Elbe river and the forest. The only draw back is Ted's hour long commute on the subway. We moved into our house with only our 8 suitcases. It was just like camping. The first things we bought to start our new home were pillows and pots and pans. (The Kennedy's lent us some sleeping bags and a blow up bed). We found we had very nice neighbors, our landlord who lives around the corner lent us a lantern (few light fixtures in a new German house) and some dishes. Our neighbor across the street lent us their van while they were on vacation and Jana was able to fill it to the brim with new furniture from Ikea. We got our car and thus our independence a couple of months later.

Our spirit of adventure

On the last part of August, 2007 we packed our bags and headed to Germany. We were ready for a change. The girls did remarkably well on the plane and the new time change cured Jana's troubles with insomnia. Ted will now be consulting instead of auditing which we hope will be better for the work/life balance issue.